Oblivious
by Mitsuki Horenake
Summary: It is the anneversary of a certain date. Aira, oblivious as ever, questions the day and learns just how naive she has been until now. My tribute fanfic to Michael Jackson. Please read the intro at least before flaming.


**This is the most last-minute idea I ever had. After watching Michael Jackson's memorial, I just had to type this up. If you don't like it, I won't complain. I just want to get my feelings out. This is written in Aira's point of view, but is not connected with Yu-gi-oh s3.**

**I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!**

**And if this story offends anyone, tell me and I will gladly take this story down.**

**------**

I was always told that curiosity killed the cat. I was also told that curiosity and stubbornness made the world as it is.

With that being said, I knew something odd was going on the minute I mentioned today's date to my friends. It was a small gesture, really. I remember it clearly. It was a hot summer day, getting hotter by the minute. We were all in the main square, bored out of our minds. There were people walking around us, dealing with their own lives. There was a small vendor nearby that was selling accessories nearby, and cars were just flying by like nothing happened.

"All right…any one still bored?" Honda complained. He was slouching on a bench _(like most guys do)_, eyes closed, his head aimed at the sky.

"I'm not." Tsubasa said. Apparently, he made up a game of making up stories of interesting people that pass by. He was actually pointing at them as he was making up their life stories. "Anyone want to join?"

"No thanks." Yugi answered. He was slouching on his left leg, as if he was about to pass out. His eyes were getting droopy like he really was going to pass out.

"Does anyone know what today's date is?" Jonouchi complained. He was in the same position as Honda, but looked a lot more dead.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and flipped it open. Actually, I can do better than that. I fumbled for the phone in my right pocket and took it out of the phone case that I apparently gave it, and pulled out my pink phone. It's a slider with the buttons on the front of it. You know, with that circle that you use for moving your choice and the enter button in the middle, as well as the call and hand up buttons nearby it? Yeah, that phone. When I slid it open, the wallpaper that I had turned on _(it was a __**Code Geass**__ one. You know, with Lelouch and Shirley, my favorite couple)_, as well as the time and date.

"It's 2:26 PM…" I said with my usual chirp. "June 25, 2009."

And just like that, the mood suddenly dropped. The same way you have to explain to a young child where their grandparents _**really**_ went and why they never seem the visit them anymore. This much I remember clearly. I was looking up from my cell phone and noticed that Yugi, Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda all had grave looks on their faces, their poses unchanging. Rune, Sora and Tsubasa had looked up from where they were looking and noticed the change as well.

And…I don't know what happened after that, and I can't really explain what was going on, but I'll try.

Um…

Do you remember, in most anime scenes, when the character we're focusing on is about to say something important and the animators make the background a dull color _(you know, shades upon shades of gray)_? And the people that are walking in the scene don't have any details to them, other that they're there?

Yeah, that was kinda it.

The world suddenly looked darker, the people around me weren't showing any sort of detail, but I still knew where they were going. In fact, there was a cute couple that had just reached up to the vendor and was buying a cute ring. It was shining a brilliant gold, which made the four of them cringe even more. Slowly, all of them stood up and walked away from us, not even looking at us in the eye.

"Where're you guys going?" Rune asked, standing up from her sitting position on the edge of the grass decoration.

But they didn't answer her. They were in a strange trance, like someone possessed them, and were out of our sight before most of us could even blink. And once they were out of our sight, the world around me suddenly became clearer. The gold ring wasn't shining as brightly anymore, and everyone had detail back in their figures. We all looked at each other.

"What was that about?" Sora asked.

"I don't know." Rune answered. "But they looked pained."

"Then I wanna know what it is." I declared.

I remember taking a step toward their location, but I felt a hand on my shoulder. And like I predicted, it was Tsubasa's hand, holding me back. He had a serious look on his face, and that never is a good thing.

"Let it go." He ordered. "This is their thing. We have no right to invade in their privacy."

I wanted to argue my point, but I had to agree with him. They had their privacy. But inside, I still wanted to know what was paining them. I was that naïve then. I wanted to know the answer to every question that would come in my mind, no matter how painful the person I'm asking felt at the moment.

**------**

That night, I was out for some reason. I think I was going out for groceries, but I don't remember holding any bags. I might've been going out for a stroll, but it was odd for me to be out on a stroll that late at night. I don't even know why I was out at that time. I only remember walking down the streets, the lights above me glowing as brilliantly as the gold ring I saw earlier, and seeing Jonouchi sitting down on the bench nearby one of the lamp posts, looking worse than if he was mugged on the street for the small amount of money that he had on him.

"Weird to see you here." I said.

He looked up from where he was looking at, and his eyes were swollen, as if he was crying. I immediately understood what Tsubasa meant when he said that it was their thing. Still, I was still curious on what was going on.

"Mind if I sit here?" I asked again.

He didn't say anything, but moved slowly out of the way, prompting me to join him on sitting down. We didn't look at each other in the eye, and we sat as close as friendship allowed. I heard sobbing sounds from him, but I made no effort to comfort him nor did I begin to question him. At that moment, I was only a ghost who was only there for the sake of making sure he wasn't alone. A small chuckle came out of his mouth, which made me turn my head.

"You're probably wondering why I look like crap, huh?" He said.

"Um…a little." I said, not even trying to hide my question.

He looked down, like I brought up a bad memory, and I immediately felt guilty from what I said. Still, there was no turning back. I asked the question, and now I need the answer. He looked up, but straight up and not straight up into my eyes.

"You know Yugi, right? And the Millennium Puzzle?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, I know." I answered, confused. "Rune has a third of it, right"

"Yeah…" He looked down.

"Wait, does this have to do with the Millennium Puzzle?"

"…Yeah. And a close friend of mine. You don't know him. He left before you were able to meet him."

"Left?" I blinked. "Are you talking about the former owner of the Millennium Puzzle?"

"That's the one. You probably won't care about him, but he's close to all of us." He looked up into the night sky. "You see…he was kinda like a father figure to Yugi. His actual father's a businessman and is never home. He was so serious, but cared for all of his friends just as greatly as Yugi cared about us. He was a father to all of us, now that I think about it. How many times had he saved our butts? I can't even count them anymore."

"Who is this guy?"

"Atemu, a spirit inside the Puzzle, and a pharaoh of ancient Egypt."

"Holy heck, really?!"

As he was talking about Atemu, I began to create an image of him inside my head. This man, who was named Atemu, had to look like a mature young man, and since he was living in Yugi's body for so long, he just _had_ to look like him. I had so much fun making this image inside my mind, and adding personality onto him based on Jonouchi's words. And when I said goodbye to him, I played with the result inside my mind, making up fake conversations with him and pretending what he would say to what I would say. I had a fun time.

It was then that I realized the truth.

I was in the middle of the road, and I found myself staring at the night sky. Here I was, making up memories of a man that I have never met, and for some reason, I was having fun with him. Was this how everyone else felt whenever they were with them?

Did they feel this happy with him?

Did they want to hang out with them even more, with his deep voice and caring eyes?

How did Yugi feel around him?

Did he feel like he really was a father to him, or was he jealous that he was possibly taking his thunder?

So many questions wandered through my head, and before I knew it, I found myself wondering how everyone was handling this day, with the memory of Atemu in their minds. I imagined Honda first, since he felt the easiest. He was a quiet mourner, like Jonouchi, and he's probably crying silently as well. He might even be looking up into the night sky like Jonouchi. They did seem to do the same things.

Yugi was the next one. It was then that I started imagining how a child would cry for their late parents. He was probably pinned up in his bedroom, sitting on his bed, holding onto a pillow and crying hard, possibly in his PJs. I imagined him holding a body pillow, since it seemed to make more sense. The bedroom would be locked, but his grandfather would probably be at the door, remembering all the small moments that he had with Atemu. They were, of course, the closest ones to Atemu. He probably considered them as a close family, and I wouldn't be surprised.

And then came Anzu.

Anzu was the worst in my mind. I couldn't understand why, but when she came to mind, she looked like a wreck. She was on the ground of her small apartment, crying hard, maybe even harder than Yugi, if I can believe it. She was probably wondering on what she would change, if for some odd reason, the time could be changed and she can go back. She would probably hold onto him and never let go, spouting all of the messages that she was telling him in his dreams. She was shaking, as if her body refused to work to allow her to survive. Maybe she had lost the will to live…

I found myself in shock.

Was I really wondering about this?

I felt a small tear go down my face, and I knew true grief. Me, being the oblivious little girl that I am, finally knew what it was like to hold a breaking heart. I didn't know who had it worse: them, because they were holding memories of a past that they can no longer have, or me, because I was reaching for an experience that can never happen? I couldn't tell. All I knew is that now I can understand how strangers feel as they escort their friends into a wake. Why they cry tears, even though they had never met in their lives.

I was always told the curiosity killed the cat. I was also told that curiosity and stubbornness made the world as it is.

I'm not sure how the world works, but there's only one thing that I'm sure of.

Everyone grieves the same way. And despite what anyone said, we all lose something when someone dies.

**------**

**My first non-fluff fanfic, based off my after feelings on Michael Jackson's memorial. Basically, this exploded in my mind after Paris spoke her words of love for her only father. My heart goes out to the entire Jackson family and all of their friends.**


End file.
